It is a dream of many athletes to beat the world records available in their discipline at least once. They work for years, honing their abilities to the absolute peak. Those lucky enough manage to slightly improve the existing records. Mondo Duplantis, a Swedish-American pole vaulter, doesn’t only beat them once. He does it again and again and again, winning every competition he participates in.
Despite being only 25, Duplantis has already managed to achieve more than many athletes do throughout their whole careers. Since beginning his career in 2015, he has managed to climb to the top of the pole vaulting leaderboard and is currently classified as number one in the discipline. He is the winner of seven global titles. He is a two-time World outdoor champion (2022 and 2023) and a three-time World indoor champion (2022, 2024, and 2025). On top of that, he is the reigning European champion and a two-time Olympic gold medalist.
The list above doesn’t include all of Duplantis’ accomplishments. If one were to put them all in one place, they would end up with an incredibly long article and a newfound admiration for the athlete. In recent years, he has been dominating pole vaulting and winning virtually all competitions he has participated in. There are many other active and incredibly talented pole vaulters, like Emmanouil Karalis, but they rarely ever get to take the biggest trophies home. Duplantis proudly collects them all.
Perhaps the most impressive of Duplantis’ achievements is the sheer number of times he has broken the men’s pole vaulting record. When he came into the sport, it sat at 6.16m, set in 2014 by Renaud Lavillenie. It was an already incredibly impressive result, but would only by a stepping stone in the Swede’s career.
Duplantis broke the record in 2020, jumping 6.17m during a competition held in Toruń, Poland. Since that day, he has beaten his own score over and over again. He usually breaks a few records a year, always increasing the height by just one centimeter. His current record, set on August 12 of this year in Budapest, Hungary, sits at 6.29m.
People suspect that Duplantis is able to jump significantly higher than the 6.29m; it’s just that beating the record one centimeter at a time is the smartest strategy. Every time he breaks the world record, he gets a cash bonus from WorldAthletics, on top of the money he would have gotten for winning the event regardless. For him, it is a great opportunity to profit from his incredible skills. For the viewers, it’s more chances to feel the excitement that comes with a record-breaking attempt.
Any fan of track and field can agree that Duplantis is one of the most thrilling athletes to follow. He has no competition but himself, and yet still manages to deliver not only incredible but also exciting performances. Despite being the best of the best, he shows no signs of stopping. He will continue breaking his own records and solidifying his position as the best pole vaulter the world has ever seen. All that the viewers can do is sit back and enjoy the show he is putting on in front of them.
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